Boys Will Be Boys Reviews

Infantile gags and elements cribbed from the HOME ALONE series form the basis for BOYS WILL BE BOYS, a highly derivative straight-to-video screwball comedy directed by beloved actor Dom DeLuise. Be forewarned: This film could induce terminal boredom. Police Lt. Palladino (Jon Voight) interrogates eight-year-old Robbie Clauswell (Drew Winget) and his 12-year-old brother Matt (James Williams) about the burglar they claim entered their house. The suspect, Skip LaRue (Michael DeLuise), claims the boys attacked him. The boys tell their side of the story: the previous Saturday, their father Lloyd (Randy Travis) and mother Emily (Julie Hagerty) were planning to attend a barbecue at the home of Lloyd's boss, Mr. Wellington (Mickey Rooney). The boys ask their father if they can spend the time without a babysitter, as they promise to take care of each other. Brotherly love soon disappears, however, and the boys manage to wreck the house with the help of some friends. LaRue, who also works for Wellington and wants a promotion that's coming up at work; follows a plan dreamt up by his girlfriend Patsy (Catherine Oxenberg), and steals $50,000 from the company. He plants the money in Lloyd's house in order to frame him for the crime. When the boys realize that LaRue is in their house, they splatter him with an all-out assault of eggs, silly string, and fly paper. Lloyd, realizing he doesn't spend enough time with his boys, tells Wellington he doesn't want the promotion, but happily, Wellington gives it to him anyway. The now-battered LaRue is arrested, the boys quickly clean the house, and upon their parents' arrival home, they are praised as heroes. As a director (FATSO, HOT STUFF), Dom DeLuise shows none of the comic flair that marks his work as an actor. BOYS is merely a rehash of HOME ALONE (1990), with two bratty kids and one bumbling crook taking the place of two crooks and one Macaulay Culkin. In fact, the plot includes another, even less involving, element: the brothers declaring war on each other with the help of their friends Einstein, Bugsy, and Eddie. Initially, they begin with name-calling ("water weenie" and "duncehead" being two choice examples), but their antics soon turn violent, with water balloons and a remote-controlled lawn mower as the weapons of choice. Perhaps this stuff looked funnier on the story boards; on film, it's simply tiresome. The performances are hokey, but obviously reflective of the contrived nature of the script. Julie Hagerty, who displayed comic ability in AIRPLANE! (1980), is fine in a thankless role, but country music singer Randy Travis proves to be a complete stiff. The other "name" cast members, including Jon Voight, Michael DeLuise (Dom's son), Catherine Oxenberg, Charles Nelson Reilly and Mickey Rooney, provide marquee value and little else. Director DeLuise cameos as an angry chef. (Violence.)